The iPhone 3G is All About Exclusivity
By Rico, 10:10 am Sat Aug 23 2008 - Editorial - 6 Opinions
Wouldn’t you know it? Last Thursday (August 21) we happened to be driving along Ayala avenue. Apparently there was some big countdown party for the iPhone 3G, at the Stock Exchange Plaza beside Tower One. Since we were rushing somewhere else, we settled on taking photos of the outside (thanks to that kind guard who let me park for a few minutes right in front!). Here’s one:
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the lines to get in were a bit long. More here. The launch party, right in the middle of the upscale Ayala Central Business District, and featured “flowing drinks” according to a source, was designed to make the visitors feel like they were part of something special.
For some reason, we feel that the “exclusive” event represents what the iPhone 3G is all about. The smartphone is exclusive because the price puts it out of the reach of your average Filipino (just like other competing high-end phones to be clear), exclusive because it’s currently locked into Globe Telecom’s network, and exclusive because of a myth cultivated by Apple’s marketing—that consumer electronics somehow define their owner. Heck, Globe even got prominent bloggers like Yugatech to showcase their “exclusive” photos.
The Story of Joe
Maybe that sense of exclusivity has somehow reached at least one of Globe’s employees? Joe shares his story on trying to buy an iPhone 3G yesterday:
The selling price for a 16 GB iPhone prepaid kit is 43,799 pesos but with a GMix / GFlex 800 plan with a 2-year lock-up, it only costs 30,500 pesos. This gave me the idea: What if I just extend my plan to another 2 years and avail of the discounted price?
Nice idea huh? Unfortunately, according to the customer representative, this is not possible because this is only available for new plan subscribers.
Hmmm, that’s weird. Joe related how he found the customer service representative well, condescending:
Of course, I expressed my disbelief about what I’ve just learned to the customer representative and she started to explain like I was a poor, dumb guy who can’t afford an iPhone and was just wasting her time. Hmm… Could it be the clothes that I wear? Or could it be that she saw that I was only a subscriber of a GMix / GFlex 800 plan?
This is Joe’s opinion, and let’s consider for a moment that the rep probably spent the whole day entertaining customers eagerly asking about the iPhone but don’t buy. Imagine how frustrating that can be.
In any case, let’s see how long it will take for local iPhone owners to start sniffing their noses whenever they pass by other people with “inferior” phones. At least, that’s what we’re bracing ourselves for. Because if there’s a reason why high-end phones fly in this country—which isn’t exactly the richest in the world—it’s because Filipinos are so into exclusivity. And they’re willing to pay for it.
jayvee f.
4:04 pm Sat Aug 23 2008
it’s not an exclusive event. you could get into the VIP area if you just showed the invitation that was being shown in globe’s website. teehee!
Technograph
4:04 pm Sat Aug 23 2008
Yep, you probably read the first version of this article. A few seconds after publishing, realizing that we made a mistake about the party being exclusive to only those purchasing a phone (we forgot about the line for “walk-in” peeps), we took out the phrase you saw.
buLolcat
5:05 pm Sat Aug 23 2008
Let them waste their moneys.
We can has a bazillion cheezburgers instead! >:)
{=^_^=}
Technograph
10:10 pm Sat Aug 23 2008
Bulolcat amp!
Do you has bettar phone than iPhone?
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9:09 am Sun Aug 24 2008
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Mike
11:11 pm Thu Sep 11 2008
Funny how the iPhone users think their gadget is superior. I see it the other way around–they’re a bunch of suckers. Despite being second gen, a lot still remains to be desired in Apple’s phone-cum-iPod.